Age of Heroes
Time Frame For a thousand years (500 B.C.E. to 500 A.D.), the cultures of Greece and Rome had dominated European culture while the Celtic tribes to their north had kept a relative peace. But from the first century of the modern era the Roman Empire began to crumble from the inside. Around 200 A.D., a wave of Germanic tribes invaded Europe from the east. By 410, Rome itself had been sacked. The next few decades saw the Roman Empire deteriorate until Rome itself was conquered by the Ostrogoths in 476. In the East, the empire continued from its new capital of Byzantium, later Constantinople, as the Byzantine Empire. In the West, the empire was replaced by local kingships. In this new environment kings focused entirely on fame in cattle raiding, pirating, and conquering each other. The bards and skops, professional historians, were used to give kings and warriors alike an immortality in poetry and stories that would otherwise have been impossible. This heroic age lasted until the establishment of strong monarchies at the end of the seventh century. Significant Traits In Europe, the heroic age marked the end of an era that had been noteworthy for centuries of stable trade, government, roads, currency, and culture. The next few hundred years would be filled with famines, plagues, raiding, and conquests. At the center of post-Roman were simple chieftains, many of whom are still remembered Arthur, Beowulf, Hrolf Kraki, Sigurd among others. None of these individuals probably controlled any more than a few hundred square miles, but they did inspire their peers with their accomplishments, and their professional historians to tell stories about them. Christianity had had become the state religion during the Roman period, but would become entrenched during the heroic age as it rapidly spread through the British Isles and among the Germanic peoples. By the late seventh century, Christianity was the dominant religion in Britain and Eíre. Major Events In around 367, the Roman Empire started bringing Germanic tribes over to Britain to act as foederati, an auxiliary military force to combat piracy and raiding on the island. The agreement involved the Empire giving gathered food and supplies from the province to the them in exchange for their services. In 409 the last Roman general in Britain, Constantine, took the title of emperor and invaded the continent. As part of his promotion the Roman government there was overthrown and replaced by his own officials. When he died in 411, the government was again overthrown. This led to a fracturing of the former province. A reduction of food and supplies led to the sacking of Rome in 410. This weakened the prestige of the Roman Empire forever and breaking the psychological hold of the empire over the Germanic tribes as an immortal and all-powerful artifice. In the middle of the fifth century, possibly 443, local efforts to maintain a supply of food and supplies to the foederati failed. This led to a revolt after which clans established control over individual villages and claimed the needed materials as a tribute. In 451, Attila lost the Battle of Chalons-sur-Marne, and he died two years later. Attila had united most of the Germanic tribes under his banner. His death dispersed them again and initiated an era known as the heroic age in which famous people like Hrolf Kraki, Beowulf, Arthur, Sigurd, and Theodoric would thrive. In 476 the city of Rome fell to the Ostrogoths. The Empire's western holdings were quickly taken up by various tribes. Several had already occupied Britain, while the Visigoths took Spain, the Ostrogoths settled in the rest of Italy, the Lombards and Franks were the main tribes in France, and so forth. In the late fifth century the first British kingdoms would emerge from what had been Roman Britain. These were localized responses to continued expansion by the Germanic tribes. The re-establishment of British kingdoms would give the British a decided advantage until the mid-sixth century, when the Germanic peoples would develop their own kingships. Their access to better farmland meant they could feed more warriors and put larger armies on the field of any battle. The next few centuries would see the consolidation of Frankia, Spain, and Portugal though dozens of kingdoms continued to exist in Italy, Germany, and Britain until well after about 650, when the Age of Heroes ended. Culture In an era where places of learning were looted and no government was stable, culture suffered. Many of the past century's advances and intellectual accomplishments were forgotten. They weren't lost though. Manuscripts became spectacles; the Lindesfarne Gospels In monasteries throughout the continent the works of Aristotle, Boethius, Augustine, and Cicero survived. However, very few new works were made. Gildas is considered to be one of the greatest writers of the sixth century but his style was classical, looking backward, instead of British, looking forward. He was not alone. Everywhere any culture survived it did so in Latin. Technology Homes were made of wattle and daub and armor was primarily leather. Medicine went from being an art and a science taught in Roman schools to the use of a random group of potions and herbs learned from trial and error as well as superstition. During the Dark Ages, the pursuit of knowledge was considered witchcraft and could be punished by burning or drowning for their ties to the devil. This was especially true of women who, following the writings of Paul, were supposed to be supportive to men but to never work on anything too intellectual for fear it might make them sterile. They were especially not to have independent minds. Nor was there much chance of revitalizing culture or technology, or generating thinking. Trade remained at the local level, but with the constant worry of bandits, raiders, and pirates it slowed to a trickle. Cornwall alone, because of its tin deposits, was a regular stop during the period.